ExpatWomen:Marybeth, firstly, congratulations on building such an enviable reputation in the travel writing industry: Winner of the Lowell Thomas award for Best Travel Book, as editor of A Woman’s World; author/editor of nine women’s travel books in the Travelers’ Tales series; travel expert for CBS Evening Magazine; the author of travel articles published all around the globe; and a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey show.
Please share with us what prompted you to write about travel in the beginning – and what has sustained your passion over the years.
Marybeth: In 1993 two simple magazine articles appeared in Self and Outside Magazine about my solo travels around the world for two years. They generated an amazing response from female readers. Although my story intrigued them, my intuition told me that what they really wanted was support and encouragement to make their own escapes. Hence the beginning of my travel writing and my first book: A Woman’s World. That was fifteen years ago and I’m still writing about the female travel experience.
Above all, I love meeting people, learning and traveling, so my lifestyle has sustained my passion. I have met some of the most inspirational, fascinating women through my books, speeches and travels. Plus I have been able to share this amazing world with my American husband (who I met in Kathmandu in 1985) and my two daughters. I’m an entrepreneur and I’ve created a niche and a cottage industry in the larger world of travel. Although I work very hard and make little money, I am extremely grateful for my life’s work and for my lifestyle.
ExpatWomen:Appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show denotes celebrity status in itself. Please fill us in – what was it really like meeting Oprah and being on her show? Did anything about the experience differ from your expectations?
Marybeth: Oprah is a focused, powerful, intelligent and amazing woman. I still pinch myself when I think I actually made it to her show. It was a great show about empowering women to take time for themselves and yes, take off, relax, give and nurture ourselves so we can return revived, rejuvenated and recommitted to our families, out partners, our work. I was so pleased to be part of that message. And the show aired over and over again, from India to Australia.
ExpatWomen:A Woman’s Europe is your edited collection of thirty-seven Europe-related travel stories by women across the globe. Can you please share with us some of the book’s highlights, including notes about your personal favorites?
Marybeth: I love the first story by Judy Wade, in which she describes an event in Paris. Three men vie for her attention and the honor of taking her out for a drink. In the end, she selects one. You should know that Judy has a gorgeous head of white hair, a warm infectious smile and doesn’t speak French. You just have to read this three-page short story; you’ll be smiling for hours after you finish it.
Naturally I enjoy my own story too about pedaling through Ireland in the rain, stopping at a pub and… well, you’ll have to read it. There’s a surprise ending.
Maybe you’re getting the idea that my favorite stories are about women interacting with the local people. You’re right, because women are so good at making connections. Where we travel relationships follow and these connections are often deep and meaningful experiences.
ExpatWomen:Reading, editing, liaising with and coordinating the efforts of thirty-seven writers sounds like a lot of work – and I’m sure you originally evaluated many more submissions. Marybeth, can you please enlighten the budding writers in our audience about how long it takes for a book like this to come together and give us an overview of the process that a publisher follows?
Marybeth: Anthologies are a lot of work and they can take years to come together. Many well-established publishers, like Travelers’ Tales collect stories from women like you. Send your story to the “editor”. They file them and you “never know. You may receive a surprise email.”
ExpatWomen:As a world traveller yourself, can you share with us some of your favorite travel experiences?
Marybeth: What a tough question. I’ve loved every travel period in my life. In my 20’s I lived in Luxembourg, Paris and New Caledonia, earning two degrees from the Sorbonne along the way. At age 29 I quit my job, put all my belongings, including my job and car in storage and travelled around the world for two years alone. I had amazing adventures in Asia, Africa, Europe and beyond.
In my 30’s and 40’s I lived with nomads in the Thar Desert of India, Sherpa families in Nepal, Karen Tribes in Northern Thailand, the hill tribes (Black Thai) in Northeast Vietnam, Gamblin musicians in Bali, Gaelic dairy farmers on the Dingle Peninsula, Mayans in Mexico and the Navajo on tribal lands in Arizona. I loved living several summers with a family in Cuernavaca and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico with my young daughters, where we attended language school together.
One of the most rewarding things I’ve done is volunteer work, in the USA, for NYOF (Nepal Youth Opportunity Foundation), which educates and houses impoverished children and liberates young girls who are sold into servitude by their impoverished families. I met the founder, Olga Murray through my work and travels. She’s an 82-year old widow, who began this work after she retired. Can you imagine? I think she’s the American “Mother Theresa”, so you see, my best travel experiences have always involved people and giving back.
ExpatWomen:Thank you very much Marybeth. We very much look forward to the second installment of your interview next month, for your book Gutsy Women.
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